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[...] There is a clear correlation between close proximity to a body of water and better psychological and overall health outcomes, said Michael Depledge, chair of Environment and Human Health at the University of Exeter Medical School.
Depledge has been studying the effects of so-called "blue environments" for a decade, helping to shepherd a number of research projects that have caught the attention of the U.K. government and the European Union (EU).
Spending time near the water, "promotes physical activity and general fitness," reducing the incidence of diabetes and other diseases associated with obesity.
But it also slows down our heart rate and reduces stress hormones, boosting our mental health, which Depledge calls "the second great epidemic we're facing."
I told you fishing was good for the soul but you were all poo-poo, he's a redneck, poo-poo.
Source: Being Near a Body of Water Makes Us Calmer and Healthier, Science Shows
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Saturday July 28 2018, @01:35PM
I think the point is caves are a lot less common than are downed trees and for that matter, open savannah.There just aren't enough caves to house a viable humanoid population. And if we'd evolved as cave dwellers, some apelike relative would so live to this day -- and none do.
I suspect the study is looking at the wrong thing: it's not proximity to water that's calming; it's proximity to open space that lacks all visible threats. The lizard part of the brain that's on the lookout for predators 'knows' that open, vacant space hides nothing, which naturally reduces stress. (At least if the water isn't full of alligators.) Hence I find open desert "calming" in the same way.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.